User:Aardvark/TranscriptStyle

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Revision as of 18:43, 26 April 2021 by Aardvark (talk | contribs) (→‎Quotations)
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Style guide for The Portal Transcripts. Link.

Word Processor Configuration[edit]

  • Disable smart quotes
  • Disable Substitutions

Spelling Help[edit]

Search for unknown terms or names, or search for some of the words in their context to find their proper spelling.

Headings[edit]

Generally, our transcripts will be posted on pages under a level 2 heading, so any subheadings in the transcript should begin at a level 3 heading.

Paragraphs[edit]

Paragraphs should contain a whole idea.

Paragraph Breaks[edit]

Paragraph breaks don't always have to be for total change of topic. The next subtopic in a line of thought can be broken into its own paragraph to help readability. More paragraphs also = more timestamps.

Timestamp[edit]

The timestamp is italicized, always of the form 00:00:00 (hours:minutes:seconds). It marks the beginning of a paragraph. It is separated by a line break (shift+enter) instead of a paragraph break. This can be checked by triple-clicking a paragraph to select it, and seeing whether the timestamp is also highlighted as part of the selection.

Speaker Tag[edit]

The speaker tag is bold, punctuated by a colon, and in-line with the paragraph.

Punctuation[edit]

Our punctuation rules.

Commas[edit]

Use the Oxford comma.

Comma before single and double quotes that begin a new clause.

Hyphenation[edit]

Hyphenate certain words.

Dashes[edit]

Em-dash or long dash (—) for interruptions (mid-word or mid-sentence) or abrupt change in a sentence's topic. No space after the dash.

En-dash in certain

Ellipses[edit]

Ellipses can be used in some places instead of dashes, if a speaker is trailing off for instance. Put a space after ellipses. They can be treated as periods or commas for the capitalization of the next word.

Quotations[edit]

Comma before single and double quotes that begin a new clause.

Double quotes for dialogue or speech, terms or phrases, and scare quotes. For dialogue and speech, end-punctuation is inside the quote. Otherwise it is outside, or there is no punctuation.

Single quotes for thoughts. If it the sentence ends inside a single quote, end punctuation is placed inside the quote.

Indirect Quotations[edit]

Indirect quotes (no quote marks) when it's hypothetical speech or . Use your own judgment. No comma before indirect quotes. Don't capitalize first word of indirect quotes.

Capitalization[edit]

Capitalize essay titles.

Capitalize book titles.

Acronyms[edit]

Acronyms are capitalized and unpunctuated: PhD, UK, USA, DISC, etc.

Slogans that reduce to acronyms are capitalized, i.e. "Make America Think Harder (MATH)".

Name acronyms are capitalized and punctuated: M.C. Escher.

Portal Terms[edit]

Portal terms aren't capitalized: embedded growth obligation, gated institutional narrative, etc.

However, Portal terms that are explicitly proper nouns are capitalized: The Portal, Wokistan, Magastan


Italicization[edit]

Italicize book titles.

Italicize foreign language phrases/terms i.e. sine qua non, unless they're in quotes that aren't dialogue quotes.

Numbers[edit]

Numbers greater than ten should be written out as numerals. Numbers less than ten can also be written as numerals so long as it's internally consistent within a transcript.

Year references like "seventies" and "eighties" should be rendered as '70s, '80s.

Mathematics[edit]

Math grammar rules here.

Typesetting[edit]

LaTeX compatible with MathJax.

Editor's Notes[edit]

When necessary, add a missing, unspoken word to clarify the meaning of a sentence, i.e. [if], [the], etc. "... I have seen no printed discussion of where the supposed trading records of this person [are, who seemed to amass a fortune."]

If there is an obvious flaw in grammar of something spoken, add [sic] after the mistake, i.e. "I didn’t felt [sic ..."]

If something is inaudible or unintelligible, write [inaudible] or [unintelligible] where it occurs.

Miscellaneous[edit]

For words that end in "m" extended with -my, add the ending to the existing word, don't conjugate it. "Spectrum" + "-my" = "Spectrummy"